Your TOP 5 for 1975

[remicks]

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---- Fellow disco aficionados , thanks to Marky's hard work, we have before us the exclusive tabulations of the year-end disco charts for 1975 . :D 8) ..... What an exciting year it was ! .... Much new ground broken ( 12" ers !!) , a big deversity in sounds ....new stars, new labels emerging .....and many chart entries that today might be debated whether truly "disco".....yet there they are .....& there they were ..... all a part of the club scene circa 1975 ....

Looking over the TOP 100 SONGS of 1975 , it's interesting to review which have had the staying power to become all-time classics , which have gone underground , & which have just gone away.....

So, IYO ..... just for fun .....

...... Which of these songs have best survived the test of time.......
.........which would you choose as your personal .....

********** TOP 5 ( or TOP 10 ) DISCO SONGS for 1975 ?? ***********

:-? :-? :D

******

[shenkin2001]

:roll: My 1975's Disco Songs favorites is:
- Baby Do You Wanna Bump/Boney M
- Tu Es/Gilla
- Hafanana/Afric Simon
- Love To Love You Baby/Donna Summer
- Willst Du Mit Mir Schlaffen Gehen ?/Gilla
- Save Me/Silver Convention
- Never Can Say You Goodbye/Gloria Gaynor

P.S. I like also from 1975 few songs,but not sure that's Disco:
- S.O.S./Mama Mia/Honey Honey - ABBA
- Ding-A-Dong - Teach-In
- Missisippi- Pussycat
- I'm On Fire - 5000 Volts

[Funky Dude]

Top 5, hard choice, I've listened to a lot of 1975 disco songs which sound brilliant, I'd say off the top of my head:

Brass Construction - Movin'
O'Jays - I Love Music
Biddu Orchestra - Exodus
Softones - That Old Black Magic
Salsoul Orchestra - Salsoul Rainbow

There's so many tossups and favourites do change and go in rotation cycle. So many good songs.

__________________________________________________ ___
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!!! OI OI OI!!! :D :D :D

[markydefad]

Oh, remicks...ya just had ta go there, dint ya???? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Now, it's agony to pick...but using only the Top 100 as a basis for choices, I'd make 2 lists.

TOP 10 BONAFIDE CLASSICS FROM 1975:

1) BAD LUCK
2) LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY
3) I LOVE MUSIC
4) FLY, ROBIN, FLY
5) LADY MARMALADE
6) FREE MAN
7) (THAT'S THE WAY) I LIKE IT
8. DOCTOR'S ORDERS
9) DREAMING A DREAM
10) HONEY BEE/ NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE/ REACH OUT (love it most when the Bum-da-da-BUM da-da BUM drum beat starts on the "REACH OUT" part!!!)

now if someone left the Top 100 records in a room...which would I play first? hmmmmm......

1) HOLLYWOOD HOT-Eleventh Hour (cause I don't have it and I wanna hear it !!!!)
2) HIJACK - Herbie Mann (it epitomizes my first trip to a disco in SF in January 1975--"I love it...I love..." that bassline!!!) :D
3) WHAT AM I GONNA DO WITH YOU - Barry White (loves The Maestro-one of his best dance tunes) :D
4) WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU - Labelle (club cut that truly rocks the joint) :D
5) SAVE ME - Silver Convention (loved their sleek shiny new Euro-sound--ABBA with a dance beat!!!) :D
6) MIGHTY HIGH - Mighty Clouds of Joy (that bass and guitar hook...that vocal... that chorus!!) :D
7) TO EACH HIS OWN - Faith, Hope & Charity (Never tire of this Van McCoy gem!!!) :D
8. HELPLESSLY - Moment of Truth (memorable Philly sound...sorta forgotten now) :D
9) EVERY BEAT OF MY HEART - Crown Heights Affair (love the melody & musical sweep of this one....especially the long instrumental opening) :D

and sadly not in the TOP 100...

10) {TIE} GET DOWN TONIGHT - KC & the Sunshine Band (NYC screwed this out of it's rightful place in the Top 5 of the year!!! CLASSIC PARTY RECORD!!) :D :D
& 10) {TIE} JIVE TALKIN' - The Bee Gees (great pop record that had a mention on the disco charts...but warmed the world to accept "You Should Be Dancing" in the summer of '76.) :D :D

BONUS CHEESE CUT: LADY BUMP ("so c'mon & dance...LOOK at MEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!") :P ( I loves it.) :oops: :D :roll: :o :oops:

[efunk_adelic]

I'll just name 5 that i've been playing a lot in the last few months....


SHIRLEY & COMPANY - SHAME, SHAME, SHAME
FAITH, HOPE & CHARITY - TOO EACH HIS OWN
RITCHIE FAMILY - BRAZIL
GEORGE McCRAE - I CAN'T LEAVE YOU ALONE
STYLISTICS - HEY GIRL, COME & GET IT

[remicks]

*****
Marky ..... I wish you'd introduced this topic ... with your flair .. I like the way you put it ..... if all 100 songs were left in a room which would you play first.... ( sort of like .... you are about to go live on a deserted island ... which ten would you take with you ... ) also your brief commentaries...i.e. ... why you chose each song .... ( Glad "LADY BUMP " got some kind of mention! )

Trouble for me is ... as I look over this list ... I am sorry to admit I don't know about 40 of them ! :cry: And another dozen I've become familiar with only recently ...... so I'd right away play ten that I don't know .... like Juggy Murray Jones or "Ease On Down The Road" which I can't imagine being so good it wound up Top 10 for the year .......?......

I'm still studying the chart a bit more ... I can say that a recent song I've obtained is getting my ear a lot .... Big Al Downing's "I'll Be Holding On" ... Wilson Picket meets Gloria Gaynor ( & is that a banjo ?) .... was this only released as a 3 minute song ?....

.. Anyway, great lists , Marky ..... & so fast too....it's as though you're already quite familiar with all these songs !! :P ....my one challenge would be whether "Lady Marmalade " should be on your bonafide list ... if by bonafide classic , you mean bonafide disco classic. I think its a nice clangy, boisterous , campy classic .... but bonafide disco? :-?

******
....and Shenkin ...... "DING -A - DONG " !!! :o ...... really ????

[remicks]

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efunk --- that George McCrea song is one of the 40 I don't know ....... :( .....?? .......

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[efunk_adelic]

******

efunk --- that George McCrea song is one of the 40 I don't know ....... :( .....?? .......

******

look at it this way.... it's discovery time for you.... That's why I keep coming back here. :D

[markydefad]

remicks,

I LOVE Al Downing's I'll Be Holding On!!! I wanted to include that in the Top 10--but ran outta room.

You can get the extended version of that track on Super Rare Disco, Volume 1:



AMG:

1 Tell Me What You Want Jimmy Ruffin 3:12
2 Dreaming a Dream Crown Heights Affair 3:48
3 Touch and Go Ecstasy, Passion & Pain ... 5:07
Performed by: Ecstasy, Passion & Pain, Barbara Roy
4 Sugar Pie Guy Joneses 3:38
5 Footstompin' Music Hamilton Bohannon 3:44
6 Free Man South Shore Commision 5:35
7 My Baby's Got E.S.P. Four Below Zero 3:30
8 You Little Trustmaker Tymes 2:48
9 Rock Me Again & Again [6 Times] Lyn Collins 2:32
10 Let Me Lay My Funk on You Poison 3:00
11 I'll Be Holding On Al Downing 5:48
12 Dream World Don Downing 4:18
13 To Each His Own Faith Hope & Charity 3:23
14 Makes You Blind Glitter Band 3:13
15 Date With the Rain Eddie Kendricks 2:40
16 It's Just Begun Castor, Jimmy Bunch 3:41
17 Girls Moments And Whatnauts 3:05
18 The Player First Choice 3:46
19 Peace Pipe BT Express 3:31
20 Hold Back the Night Trammps 3:15

Even though most of these are short versions (sometimes that's all that exists)...it's worth having. I'd forgotten "I'll be Holding On"...then I heard that opening (this was an early Tom Mouton extended mix)...and I just knew what was coming!!! And , yes, it is a banjo!!! Mouton writes about this in his column!!! Especially that the record company wouldn't keep the extended "disco mix" in the record stores!!!

[markydefad]

remicks,

This is the track list for volume 2 (easily found at Amoeba in the used bins)

AMG:

A mistitled CD, while some cuts are rare, others can be found easily. The rare birds include "Love Insurance," by Front Page, "Sending Out an S.O.S." a steady floater, by Retta Young, and "When the Fuel Runs Out," a taste of Philly Disco, by Executive Suite. The Reddings "Remote Control" is clever and catchy and hit for the sons' of Otis Redding. New York's Black Ivory, and Chicago's Notations known for heart stopping ballads, perform two disco numbers: "Mainline" and "Think Before You Stop." Sweet, falsetto singing Eddie Holman blows the house down on "This Will Be a Night to Remember," disco at its best. The Originals' "Down To Love Town" and Double Exposures' "Ten Percent" are cream dancers with powerful lead vocals. These 20 movers are more than enough to spark any party.


Title
Performer
Time

1 Let's Start the Dance Hamilton Bonhannon 5:52
2 Somebody's Gotta Go (Sho Ain't Me) Mike & Bill 3:54
3 Overnight Sensation Jerry Knight 3:38
4 If My Friends Could See Me Now Linda Clifford 3:46
5 When the Fuel Runs Out Executive Suite 3:37
6 Think Before You Stop Notations 2:48
7 Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart Trammps 3:17
8 I Caught Your Act Hues Corporation 3:42
9 Happiness Is Just Around the Bend Main Ingredient 3:30
10 Every Beat of My Heart Crown Heights Affair 3:50
11 There'll Come a Time, There'll Come a Day Basic Black And Pearl 2:58
12 Smarty Pants First Choice 2:35
13 This Will Be a Night to Remember Eddie Holman 3:02
14 Down to Love Town Originals 5:53
15 Mainline Black Ivory 3:58
16 The Bottle Brian Jackson 5:10
17 Ten Percent Double Exposure 3:05
18 (Sending Out An) S.O.S. Retta Young 3:15
19 Remote Control Reddings 3:59
20 Love Insurance Front Page 3:42

[markydefad]

remicks,

In answer to your "I don't know about 40 of the songs"...let me know which ones you need to find...I've learned some of these over the past few years...still don't have a few...but I think I know some compilations where you can find some of 'em....check AMG for sure. That helped me.

[Super D]

Here is my top 5 fab 75(I think these are 1975?) :( :o :(

1. Earth, Wind, and Fire,"Sing a Song"
2. O'Jays,"I Love Music"
3. First Choice,"Player"
4. Foxy,"Get Off"
5. BT Express,"Devils Workshop"

Man! my 'Fro was Boooooming back then! :D :D :D
Right on, show ya right, gimmie 5 on the blackhand side....oh! I'm sorry guys, I was stuck in a time warp, for a second :oops:

Super D(motordetroit) 8)

[Marcio**]

Sexy by MFSB from Universal Love LP
Thoughts and Whishes by Hamilton Bohannon
Hot Trip by The Ritchie Family
The Hustle by McCoy Handy
Brazil by Krispie and Company
:)

[originalbigm]

I Am Somebody-Jimmy James & The Vagabonds
Let's Groove-Archie Bell & The Drells
Supernatural Thing-Ben E. King
Supership-George"Bad"Benson
Love Machine -The Miracles

[remicks]

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here are the actual TOP 10 for 1975:*

1) Bad Luck ..... Harold Melvin
2) Brazil .....Ritchie Family
3) Fly Robin Fly ..... Silver Convention
4) Do It Anyway You Wanna ..... People's Choice
5) I Love Music ..... O'Jays
6) Ease On Down The Road ..... Consumer Rapport
[7) Free Man ..... South Shore Commission
8) Express ..... B T Express
9) Casanova Brown ..... Gloria Gaynor
10) Dreaming A Dream ..... Crown Heights Affair

the entire 100 songs of 1975 * can be found at:

http://www.discomusic.com/forums/vie...7508&start=310

:D :D :D

*courtesy Markydefad

******

[thommy2458]

Ok,it's time for the newbie
on this board to put in my
2 cents,so here goes:My
problem isn't that I don't
know 40(of the 100,I couldn't remember 2)but it's heartbreaking to pick
only 5-so I'll pick 10 instead!I was a 17 year old
kid with a fake ID driving to LA in my VW every weekend,and the songs played here had a completely different feeling than that of New York-although I faithfully
bought everything listed in
Billboard,what I danced to
was a different story.La disco had a decidedly "playful,happy"
sound- cuts like Gary Tom's
empire(blow your whistle/drive my car)calhoon's "dance(a HUGE floorfiller)Miz Davis "sing a happy funky
song"(this may be closer to 1976?)Julie Budd's "one
fine day"Eleventh hour's
"hollywood hot"(which caused screams on the floor)and even things like
Graham central station's "it's allright"
and the cate bros."union man" were wonderful oddballs that charted in LA but never New York.There were great classy NY records that I
never got to hear in the
cubs because the DJ's would
not play them-the reflections "three steps","undecided love"and
the gorgeous "helplessly"
all were mostly ignored.But as I reflected
on this difficult task,I found myself listing the more NYC charted cuts-they
still sound soulful and
sophisticated-and more
durable.But I'm glad I had exposure to both-and so should anyone who truely
wants to seek out disco's
early roots.Anyways,here goes: 1)Free Man
2)Love don't you go through no changes
3)I love music
4)Mighty High
5)where is the love
6)crystal grass (the 1st druggy "trance" record-also see "foot stompin' music")
7)forever came today
8)peace pipe
9)lady bump(when the break came though the
speakers it was like an
earthquake-pandamonium!)
10)I am somebody("don't be ashamed of who you are...just hold your head up high"-I used these words in my class yearbook!It was my first gay pride statement..)
Thanks for asking Thom
PS-Markie,was "let's groove" released in 75 or 76? another favorite...

[markydefad]

Welcome Thom!!! :D :D :D

You are dead-on in your assessment of the differences in NYC & LA charts!!! I was in SF at the time--so I sensed a sorta combination of the NYC sound and the LA sound...they definitely played "Hollywood Hot" & KC in SF--but the Billboard charts show major differences in records that somehow didn't work in both markets.

LA was definitely more into the "funky party music" while NYC was into the "pretty & soulful sound." LA liked gritty-NYC like sleek. At least that's the message the charts send me.

All the records you list as "LA" have already or will soon chart in LA. (Miz Davis & Cate Brothers are coming in the first several months of 1976.)

At the end of 1975, "Let's Groove" is currently in the Top 10 and will remain there into 1976.

Thanks for your input and the validation that it truly was that way in the discos of LA in 1975.

Now tell me, if you can, where was Bahama Mamas located? This was the first club that reported for Billboard. Just curious as to what part of town it was located in.

BTW, are you still in LA? :-?

[thommy2458]

Marky!-yep,LA played KC
and Hollywood hot-and
"get off your ass and jam" by Funkadelic which personified that dirty,sexy fun(and VERY camp!) thing that
happened alot out west.
The Odyssey in LA would
play "timewarp" from Rocky Horror before anyone even heard of it.
Bahama Mama's was a straight club in the Hollywood/Sunset Blvd area-I think it was a
chain-it was alot of
"radio" disco,nothing I
wanted to hear at the time.The best disco at
the time you are thinking
-1975-was The Paradise
Ballroom in Hollywood.This was where
all the gays,the "in" straights and celebrities
woud go.Later the "in" place would be
Studio One which caused
Paradise to eventually
close down.It could not
compete with the "big Three"-Studio One,Odessey
and Circus Disco-disco's
that were modeled after
NY clubs in size and look.I didn't visit any
San Francisco clubs until
1979.The two I remember
most were I Beam(when
Tim Rivers was spinning-awesome mixer)and Trocedero.We went to
Dreamland also,but there
was no one there so we left.Yes,I live in So.Cal
still-about 30 minutes
from LA.I have wanted to go back to SF twice
last year for Robbie
Leslie's "remember" parties,but work,etc..
chains me here.Did you
go to these? I love Robbie Leslie and I should have gone,but
I wimped out.If you
want to email me Marky,
its thommy@webtv.net
and I can talk about this stuff for days....
thanks again! Thom

[markydefad]

Thommy,

I went to the first Trocadero Reunion Party; missed #2 & #3.

Maybe I'll see you at the next one!! :D

That's what I suspected about Bahama Mama's-- a chain for breeders--I did a google search, but I couldn't find a street address.

So what was the address of the Paradise Ballroom? What street? I moved down to LA in 1984--Probe was the place to go then and Studio One was still around...Circus Disco still exists if it's the place on Santa Monica Blvd. by Arena.... near the lumberyard!!! I know it is...but maybe it was at a different location in the Seventies? And what about the disco where they filmed "TGIF" --was that on the space now occupied by the Bev Center or the Bev Connection or somewhere in that LaCienega/Beverly vicinity? Was that a breeder hangout?

I'm just askin'.

[thommy2458]

Marky-I think Paradise
was somewhere near Highland Ave-but my old
brain can't remember
exactly.The TGIF/disco
was a straight club
in LA,but the name escapes me.You have to remember,that these were
the type of clubs my friends and I would avoid
like the plague-"guido's"
in polyester and Farrah
haired girls in their
Danskins all requesting
"brick house"!
But the Paradise would
have been long gone in the early 80's.And the Probe was super HOT.I
remember the first time
I was there,going down those stairs,high on coke
and hearing Tantra's
"hills of katmandu" churning out of that soundsystem-great club.
Marky,have you visited
Steve's 5AM site yet?
this has alot of good info about LA and SF
clubs.let me know if you need the address....
Thom

[markydefad]

Thommy,

I found this site after viewing the link on Steve's 5am site a number of years ago!!! I was searching for Bobby Viteritti!!! It's a splendid site--wish more people were there in that forum.

[remicks]

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Welcome to the board , Thommy !! Great info ....

......AND , ....that's some serious top tennin' !! :D :D

I'm completely envious that you know 98 ! of the year's TOP 100 songs. ...............so which are the two that you don't know????

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[QUINNY]

A quick tally and I played 77 of the 100 to varying success.

Put me down for

People's Choice
O'Jays
Crown Heights Affair
Moment of Truth ( one of the first TRUE disco records IMO)
KC

plus at least a dozen more.

Yeah, big hits, but I'm still not tired of any of them.

[thommy2458]

******

Welcome to the board , Thommy !! Great info ....

Thanks Remicks-it's nice to be here!

......AND , ....that's some serious top tennin' !! :D :D

I'm completely envious that you know 98 ! of the year's TOP 100 songs. ...............so which are the two that you don't know????

Ok,the two I don't know are Ronnie Walker's "got
to try harder" and Boogie
Man Orchestra "lady,lady,lady"
I need to buy these on 45
vinyl unless anyone knows
if they are on any CD comps?
******

[markydefad]

Thommie,

I found "You've Got To Try Harder" by Ronnie Walker on Masterpieces of Modern Soul at Amoeba Records here in LA. I believe it's still there.

from AMG:

1 To Get Love You've Got to Bring Love Debra Johnson 2:30
2 Don't Send Nobody Else Millie Jackson 3:21
3 Ain't No Telling Houston Outlaws 3:24
4 Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right Mayberry Movement 3:10
5 Fair Warning Ted Taylor 3:02
6 Chase Those Clouds Away Sam Nesbit 2:37
7 I'm the One Who Loves You Millionaires 3:43
8 I'm a Believer Idris Muhammad 5:18
9 Come Out of the Sandbox Comer, Mary Love 4:13
10 What Can I Do, I'm So in Love With You Jean Shy 3:32
11 A Frown on My Face Jacqueline Jones 3:03
12 One More Chance Four Tees 2:47
13 To Be a Part of You Vernon Garrett 2:30
14 Love Me Baby Tender Loving Care 2:40
15 You've Got to Try Harder (Times Are Bad) Ronnie Walker 3:01
16 Second Hand Love Lynn Varnado 3:04
17 I Call It Love Tretenders 3:57
18 I'm Me Just Me Gil Billingsley 4:17
19 Here I Am Again Denise LaSalle 3:24
20 Come Through Me Garland Green 3:04
21 I'm a Lonely Man Al Christian 2:41
22 Bringin' Me Back Home Lou Pride 3:39

I can't find "Lady, Lady, Lady" anywhere...but it is listed in Bernie's vault...I have a list of stuff I need (to get some credits and timings and bpms) that I'll post later